Gifts for Us to Share
by imaginarybird
Summary: The Christmas after Texas, Riley receives a special gift. Two years later she learns who gave it to her. A fluffy one-shot.


_Just a short little oneshot to celebrate the holidays with._

* * *

 **Christmas, 2015**

There's one present left under the tree. It's wrapped a little messily in Christmas-themed Cuddle Bunnies wrapping paper (which is just the bunnies wearing scarves and Santa hats, hopping around in the snow near some pine trees) and it has a comically large red and gold bow for the size of the box.

Christmas itself is in Philly this year and Josh, who has been playing Santa all morning and distributing the presents, picks up the box and makes a big show of reading the tag and pretending to give it to a few of the different Matthews family members in the room before placing it on Riley's lap.

Riley's not expecting anything else. She's already opened up all of the little things that she mentioned wanting to her parents, as well as a beautiful locket from her grandparents, and small trinkets from Josh and Auggie. And despite all the awkwardness among the group, they did a secret Santa exchange to…well, only mediocre success, but the real point was that she knows there's no gifts coming from that direction either.

She finds a small card near the bow and opens it to find a note scrawled in a handwriting she can't quite place.

 _Riley,_

 _I know you wanted this a few years ago, but I think sometimes it takes a bit longer for the things that we really want to come to us. I hope getting it now makes you happy and brightens your day, and I hope you find it was worth the wait._

 _Merry Christmas_

Finding the card unsigned, Riley opens the package, carefully finding the seams to pull off the tape and preserve the cute paper. Inside is a pink and white box with a clear plastic front showcasing a beautifully crafted doll, done up to look like her. It's wearing a flowery purple dress and a pretty silver bracelet, and Riley can barely believe her eyes. A _Truly Me_ doll from American Girl.

She had always wanted one as a little girl, but it was one item that had never appeared under the tree. After a few years, as the mystique of Santa had drifted away and she had realized how much of a role her parents played in the magic of Christmas and what exactly went into putting Christmas together, Riley had come to understand that she never got one at least partly because of the cost, and she had suspicions about some other reasons one had never found it's way under the tree.

She can't imagine why she would be getting one now.

Immediately Riley turns to her parents. "Why did you…?" She trails off when both her mom and dad shake their heads.

"Not us." Her mom shakes her head.

Her grandparents are the other likely option, but they too deny it. As do Uncle Eric and Aunt Morgan. She doesn't really think Uncle Josh would have given her anything like this, but Riley turns to him anyways just in case.

He denies it, sipping his hot chocolate. "I guess it must just be from Santa."

* * *

 **Christmas Eve, 2017**

"I'm so happy that we're _finally_ getting to celebrate a Christmas together." Riley says, glancing over her shoulder at her boyfriend.

Lucas leans over to place a small kiss on her cheek before getting back to stringing popcorn garlands on the small tree that's tucked in the corner of Riley's bedroom. "I'm so happy that your dad actually let me into your room to help you decorate this tree."

"The door's open." Riley nearly rolls her eyes. She grabs another ornament. "And besides…even his boyfriend rules can't stand in the way of my Christmas tradition. For the past couple of years, I've spent part of Christmas Eve decorating my own little tree in here–my own private piece of Christmas magic. And since it's my tree, I get to decide who helps me decorate it. And I want it to be you."

"Well, I'm honored you're letting me be involved in something so special."

"You should be. You know…Maya doesn't even get to do this with me."

Lucas puts a gentle hand on Riley's waist, spinning her closer to him so he can kiss her again. This time it's on the lips and a touch more than a peck, leaving them both a little breathless when they pull apart. "Thank you. For letting me in here, and…for choosing me. I don't thank you for that enough."

Riley smiles; it's still a little hard to believe that they've come as far as they have, enough so that it brings a small shimmer of tears to her eyes. She reaches up and brushes her fingers through the hair near his ear. "I'll always choose you, Lucas."

The moment slowly passes and dissipates (after one more kiss) and they pull apart surveying their work on the tree.

It's a simple tree. Just lights, some popcorn and cranberry garlands, a star for the top and a few, mostly handmade, ornaments. Riley couldn't be more pleased with it. Only…

"I almost forgot!" She hurries over to her closet. Her _Truly Me_ doll that she had gotten two Christmas' ago resides in a stand on top of the dresser inside (away from the eyes of her friends who just wouldn't quite understand her attachment to the doll meant for young children) and she normally only takes it out to make sure her hair stays neatly brushed and that the doll stays clean and in nice condition. Except for today. Today Little Riley gets to spend the night under the tree. After retrieving the doll, and carefully placing her in a sitting position on the red tree skirt under Lucas' attentive gaze, Riley stands back up and claps her hands together. "There! _Now_ it's perfect." She leans against Lucas and wraps a hand around his waist. "Thank you for helping me decorate."

He drapes his arm across her shoulders. "Anytime. I like being a part of your Christmas tradition. Although…I have to ask…"

"Why did I put a mini-me under the tree?" Riley fills in for him.

"Yeah."

One of the things she likes best about her relationship with Lucas, is that she never has to make him promise not to laugh, no matter how silly something really is. She guides him over to the bay window and they sit. "Two Christmas' ago, when we were… when things were so messy, she mysteriously showed up as a present for me under the tree at my grandparents' house in Philly, and she had this note. About how sometimes it takes a long time to get the things that we want most. It wasn't signed, and nobody would admit to giving her to me. They all said it was Santa." Riley laughs and sighs, shaking her head. "I know it wasn't really Santa, but now I have her spend the night under my tree, in the hopes that maybe someday I'll get another little something that lets me know who gave her to me. I know it's a long shot, but not many people even know how much a gift like her would have meant to me. When I was seven, all I ever wanted–,"

"All you ever wanted for Christmas was a _Truly Me_ doll in a pretty purple dress." Lucas cuts her off, grabbing her hand. "It was the only thing you put on your Christmas List, and you made your parents bring you to five different Santa's villages so you could make sure that Santa got the message. You did extra chores and everything else you could think of to make sure you made the nice list that year.

"But Christmas came and went." He continues. "And you got a lot of wonderful gifts, but no _Truly Me_ doll. The same thing happened next year, and the year after that, and then you finally realized that Santa wasn't going to be bringing you that doll for whatever reason, so you stopped asking. But even after that, there was still a small part of you that would hope, every year, that she would show up under the tree."

Riley's eyes again fill with shaky tears. "How did you–,"

Lucas smiles, thumbing one of the tears away carefully. "You told me. At the library. Right after I told you about wanting to be a veterinarian."

"But…why would you spend all that money on me? Especially then? I had just called you my brother and we were barely talking to each other."

"Because… even though we weren't talking, and even though you were trying to hide it…I knew _something_ wasn't quite right. And I just wanted you to be happy. No matter what was happening with us, I wanted you to be happy. And that doll was the only thing I could think of that I knew would make you smile."

Riley's crying, but doesn't let that stop her from kissing Lucas. "Thank you." She pulls back, wiping at her face. "I don't know how I can begin to…You know sometimes I think you're more than I could ever deserve."

"That's not possible. Because I _know_ , without question that you're the one making me a better person, every single day that you're in my life."

Riley can't figure out what to say to that. It's still so hard to comprehend sometimes that they've been together for over a year–that he really does love her for who she is and feels so strongly about her impact on his life, and sometimes she doesn't know how to explain that she feels exactly the same way. Thankfully, Lucas doesn't seem to mind filling in the silence.

"Merry Christmas, Riley. Here's to another year of challenging each other, and making each other happy."

"To another year."


End file.
